A new chapter of Merrick Garland's long career in the law has opened after the Senate voted to pave the way for him to serve as attorney general.
The vote comes five years after then-President Barack Obama nominated Garland to serve on the Supreme Court — a goal frustrated by Senate Republicans who refused to even consider a hearing for that post.
Garland, a moderate judge with deep prosecutorial experience, soon will lead a Justice Department reeling from political scandals and racing to confront the threat from violent home-grown extremists.
He has pledged that his first formal briefing and
his highest priority will be bringing to justice the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, as well as the people who may have funded and organized that deadly attack in Washington as lawmakers met to certify the 2020 election.
